About the School of Social Sciences

We were ranked 33rd in the world for social sciences in the QS World University Rankings for 2018.

Our diverse school engages critically with studies of culture and communication and issues confronting humanity and society in the past, the present and into the future.

We are interested in topics as diverse as:

What is the extent of human social and cultural variation?

What happened on Easter Island over the last 1000 years?

Why does New Zealand puts so many people in prison?

How do you make dramas and documentaries, or write screenplays?

How does inequality make us sick?

How has yesterday's hand-axe been transformed into today's computer mouse, and with what consequences?

Are Facebook and Twitter transforming or destroying journalism?

How can states deal with bloody ethnic conflicts?

Does a just society mean equal incomes for everyone?

How do we engage in transformative collaborative international development?

What are ‘race’ and ‘gender’ and why do they matter?

Our cosmopolitan staff include specialists engaged with research and creative projects in New Zealand and around the world. We attract around 2250 students each year, including around 90 PhD students. We welcome opportunities for collaborations in research, teaching and learning.